MINNEAPOLIS ‘ Shane Victorino was back out the lineup due to a back issue Friday night, but he said the absence is nowhere near as necessary as when he missed seven games a few weeks back.

‘We’re going to be smart about it,’ said Victorino, who left Thursday night’s game in the ninth inning after colliding with the right field wall at Tropicana field, causing his ailing back to stiffen up.

‘Last time I missed a week. That’s not the goal to do the same thing this time. But again, I’m not evaluating it like it was the last time. It’s nowhere near that. I just don’t want it to get to that point because these are the symptoms I felt the last time. I can’t go out there and make it a week. Hopefully we can calm it down, ASAP. Like I said, hopefully I’ve got three hours to calm it down, and if I’m needed to play tonight, that’s the goal.’

While Victorino was volunteering for duty ‘ having gone 3-for-3 with a homer the last the time Sox faced Minnesota starter Vance Worley ‘ Red Sox manager John Farrellhoped that the outfielder wouldn’t be needed this time around.

‘We’ll do everything we can to kind of stay away, just to give him a full day off his feet,’ Farrell said.

Starting in right field in place of Victorino for the series opener was Daniel Nava, who also took over the lineup’s No. 2 spot.

In 32 games, Victorino is hitting .383 with a .708 OPS and 19 runs. His .360 batting average with runners in scoring position leads the Sox, and is 13th in the American League.

“It’s a little stiff today, but I’m hoping it’s not anything like it was the first time,” Victorino said. “We’ve got to go day-to-day and see how it feels. It feels a lot better today, obviously, but it’s still frustrating to be circling back to this situation. I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted to be back where I was a few weeks ago. That was no fun. But again, you know, we’re still far from all that to get that point. So, just hoping today is the day and we’ll get out there tomorrow.”

ROSS STILL FEELING IT

David Ross, who was slated to possibly join the team in Minnesota, is still feeling the effects of his concussion, pushing the testing scheduled to gauge any symptoms back to Monday.

Ross most likely won’t be joining the Sox on their current road trip.

‘Everything pointed to him being re-examined there and him joining us here in Minnesota but much like we’ve seen with many other concussions, these things take on a life of their own,’ Farrell said. ‘He’s still experiencing some light-headedness and fatigue, so we’ve just got to give it time.’

Ross is currently on the seven-day concussion disabled list after taking two foul balls off his mask last Saturday.

HANRAHAN TO STAY IN DALLAS

Farrell noted that Joel Hanrahan ‘ who had surgery on both his flexor tendon and elbow ligament ‘ will conduct the first portion of his rehab in the Dallas area. The reliever will be in a cast for 10 days before he can begin the process.